By : Douglas Ogbankwa Esq.
I love God and I can say this with all equanimity and sense of purpose.What I abhor is using God as a tool of trade ,deceit and debauchery !
I wish to state unequivocally ,that there exist quite a lot of Clergy that follow the tenets of the Bible and are practically ,leading quite a lot in Christ.There are however ,another Lot ,whose conduct is a disgrace to our Christian Race ,who preach about Heaven but what to acquire the whole Earth ,who sleeps with young girls even when they themselves are married ,and even at times peoples’ wives.
There are another Lot who are thieves in the House of God ,who sell water ,handkerchief olive oil, and wait for this ,offering envelops!Whose major question in Church is “Can a man Rob God ?”.Are you God ?Why don’t let God bother about it .
Whose source of power and clairvoyance is questionable ,due to their conduct and the rites ,they perform in their churches. I am this blunt ,because ,you can not claim to be an Anointed and you are doing harm to the Body of Christ !
So the Bible actually says ” Touch not my anoited and do my Prophet no harm “.
But if by conduct , a Clergy shows that he is not of God ,he should be treated as such as his conduct demands .
Religion is the biggest problem of the Nigerian Poor.It takes their mind some times from reality and leave them in El dorado .
Do not get me wrong,the reality of faith and the supernatural exists and I believe in it .
Some thieves with doubtful spiritual origin are however taking advantage of it, to fleece and milk innocent Nigerians, especially the Poor.
Enough of these deceits ,we as Christians must open our eyes and question ,questionable calls ,by some of these Clergy ,whose conducts are obnoxious and where we have evidence of misdemeanors or reprehensible conducts that are against the Teachings of Christ ,we must name and shame them .The Bible tells us to beware of false prophets, who in the name of Jesus ,will cast out demons and see visions ,but who are not of Him!
CALL FOR REGULATIONS
I call for a regulation of activities of Churches,mosques and shrines to stem fraud and decadence .We can not continue like this .For the Church, let the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN),Set up a Regulatory and Disciplinary Committee ,like NBA and NMA have .Pastors deal with issues of life ,they should not be left unregulated ,or else society will be worse off.Again, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) , should perform their functions as it relates to Corporate Governance ,so that all the Sections of the Company and Allied Matters Act ,(CAMA),2020, should be observed to the letter . Christians should also read about the status of Churches ,which are incorporated trustees ,registered under Part C , of the Companies and Allied Matters Act ,2020.The Bible Says my people perish for lack.of knowledge.
This is not about regulating God.This Structure exits in developed Societies and these Pastors conform to financial discipline and corporate governance regulations in those Societies.Why should ours be different,or is the God in America different from the God in Nigeria?
The Church should take the welfare of their Members Paramount.Church Money should not be controlled by Pastor and his Wife.A Church is an Incorporated Trustee.Every Registered Member has a say in the running of the Church and a Member according to the Law has an equal stake in the Church as the Pastor or his Family.
So, we should stop the practice that when a Pastor wants to buy car,even sometimes when he has cars he is not using , Members donate and when a Member is about to embark on a Surgery or has incurred Bill in the Hospital , Members will be asked by the same Pastor to pray for the member that actually needs the money.
Our Lord Jesus Christ fed 5000 hungry people in the Bible ,perhaps ,now it is 5000 hungry people that feed Pastors.
An anecdote for change.This Earth is not actually our own ,we will all account one day .
The Bible says Judgement will start from the Church.Pastors should
Stop the “Can a Man rob God ” cliche .That is not the only verse in the Bible.The Bible says “When you give to the poor ,you lend to God” . How many times has our Pastors preached about this ?Jesus Christ who we all follow had no earthly acquisition whatsoever,from birth to death ,so what is this craze of building schools and Universities your Members can not attend .Some times they use church money to build Universities and register them in their names and those of their family members.That is criminal !
Now adays, we don’t just have men of God ,we also have god of men .
Christans should serve God in truth and in Spirit .No man can lead you to God .You have direct assess to God.We are all children of God .No one is a super Child or grand child of God.Sonetimes the concept of “Servant of God ” is a format for thievery .Will you go to your biological father , through some one else ?
Men and Women of God are Primus Interpares ,first among equals Infact ,the Company and Allied Matters Act,2020 ,which establishes Churches , Mosques and other NGOs, provides that a Pastor whether being a Trustee or not can even be suspended and even expelled, by other trustees or members.
By the Law ,your Church Account should be audited every year and audit reports given to Members.When has that happened in your Church?
Let me not say more ,lest I open a ” CAN” of worms !
The Church needs to purge itself , else Society will purge the Church .This will not be funny . Judgement beckons .
About the Author.
Douglas Ogbankwa Esq. @ douglasogbankwa@gmail.com ,is a Benin Based Lawyer and Writer and the Founder of the Benin Writers’ Society.
